British Bummer
Imagine my trembling excitement as I put in my copy of the new adaptation of Mansfield Park last night, only to find out, after watching it, that it was an edited version from the original UK version. Grrrr! My disappointment, I assure you, was severe. Last fall, my friend MK toted back from London all the new Austen adaptations that are now airing on Masterpiece Theatre. She loaned me the goodies and a region-free DVD player for a week and I watched with delicious delight every DVD at least five times. (I know, I’m pathetic.) And I am sad to say these are not small scenes cut (like sheep or houses,) but fairly significant ones. Mansfield Park from amazon.com/uk runs 120 minutes and the U.S. version has a run time of 90 minutes. Thirty full minutes have been shaved off. EGADS!
So what’s a girl to do? I suppose I will need to invest in a region-free player and purchase my flicks from amazon.com/uk instead of from the U.S. I wonder why the powers that be decide to edit the U.S. versions. Do they think we’re not quite bright enough to enjoy the same scenes as the Brits? Or do they associate Americans with ADD and are easily bored by too many manor houses and horse drawn carriages? I think they need to reconsider such horrible practices. It’s really quite devastating to an Austenite.